We have settled into life on Vancouver Island really well. In fact, it's now approaching three and a half years since we returned to Canada and purchased here on the Island. We like it here very much.
We are finding out that the Island is not as expensive, as one would believe. It's nice to see property taxes reduced by over $1,000 because one of you is a senior. Our utility bills are 1/4 of what they were in Calgary. Admittedly, gas is more expensive but we don't drive as much as we used to which prompted us to sell our second vehicle. Another great saving.
This year, I have had some wonderful opportunities to get out and do some salmon fishing due to a very kind friend who always asks me if I would like to go and in most cases, I have been lucky enough to bring home some reasonable sized salmon.
I am now fully equipped with rods and reels and enjoy getting out onto the Strait of Georgia (renamed the Salish Sea).
The Salish Sea is one of the world's largest and biologically rich inland seas. It encompasses the Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands and waters between Vancouver Island and Vancouver BC and in the middle, has a depth of 447 meters or an astounding 1467 ft.
It is wonderful to see the Orcas or Killer Whales, porpoises, huge sea lions, seals, bald eagles almost everywhere you look. We even see the massive Humpback Whales breaching with their young off the coast while fishing.
This year, friends and former clients from Calgary relocated to Courtenay. We were delighted to be able to help out by referring them to a Realtor® here who has serviced other clients of ours who have also relocated here.
If you ever decide to move here, please contact us. We would be happy to put you in touch with a very reliable Realtor® who will certainly look after your interests.
Mobility has been an issue for me this year. This is due in part to some stuff going on with me health-wise which is unusual, as I have been fit all my life but as they say, age brings forth expected issues.
Osteoarthritis seems to get to us all at one time or another. Both Donna and I have not escaped its clutches. As a consequence, Donna and my daily walks have been slowly diminishing. Donna still gets out and about but the length of my walks has reduced to walking the 200 meters to the mailbox and back and has resulted in my being almost house-bound for the remainder of the time. I have managed to keep on top of the yard work and Donna has been a great help too.
I am scheduled for a total knee replacement and a hip replacement. The surgeon who is going to perform the surgeries, asked which one was more urgent? I chose to have the hip replacement done first. That surgery will be on Nov 27 - Less than two weeks away.
One big plus is that the hospital is just a two-minute drive or a short walk from the house but the hospital stay will only be for two nights so it shouldn't be an issue then, a few months later it will be time for the knee replacement. I will begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Donna, on the other hand, has been going like a steam train. She seems more and more active which is nice to see after her struggle with her bad knee which was replaced about nine years ago.
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| Our friends and family gathered for our wedding Anniversary and my 70th birthday |
On another note, we celebrated our 25th (Silver) Wedding Anniversary in August along with my 70th birthday. We were delighted to have friends and family from Calgary make the trip over to the Island.
We had friends (our former neighbours in Mesquite), come from as far away as Nevada to be here to help celebrate. We were delighted, to say the least.
Thanks to Donna and Wayne Thiessen, their granddaughter Haley (Cochrane), Ron and Karen Kneller (Calgary), daughter Kath and Roddy and kids, Adam and Amy (Calgary), Jack and Michelle Bevan (Mesquite, Nevada), Marty (our MC for our wedding) and his wife Linda (Nanaimo and formerly Calgary) and our next door neighbours Terry and Beth for coming. It was fun.
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| Left to Right, Donna, daughter Kath and Donna's long-time friend Linda |
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| Left to right Ron, Donna (the other Donna), Jack, Karen and Haley enjoying the fireplace in our yard |
We are eyeing the calendar to see when we can get away for a break. I cannot go right away as I have to have surgery to remove kidney stones but once that is done, we will be off.
Something we have never done before is to consider a cruise, in this case, a world cruise. We were driving around one day and heard about one advertised by a local travel agent.
The picture below shows where we had planned to go.
The tour was to depart from Barcelona, Spain, onto Italy, Greece, Israel, through the Suez Canal, onto Aqaba, along the Red Sea, around the southern Tip of Aden - Saudi Arabia, then onto Muscat in the Trucial Oman States, then onto Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, then east to Kochi in Southern India, around the South coast of Sri Lanka, to Penang, Malaysia, finishing in Singapore and the flight back to Vancouver it sounded wonderful especially when you heard the amazing advertised price of $4,500 BUT, and this is so important, it's important to do your homework.
Once we had added in the upgrades to a suite with a balcony (I could not be down below in a cabin with a small porthole window), the drinks package for two (because you aren't permitted to bring your own wine or spirits etc.), mandatory 18% gratuities and on top a further anticipated tip of around 15%, and the extras for the sightseeing tours at the local ports of call, It ended up at around $11,500 each so we are taking another look at this idea or at least shelving it for now.
We realize we can go on a lot more vacations (including all-inclusive vacations to the Caribbean or back to Hawaii which we really like) for $22,000, so it's back to the drawing board until we can earmark a tour that might fit the bill.
Apart from all that, we are doing reasonably well. We have been retired for over five and a half years now and would never dream of returning to work. We are making as much of retired life as we can.
That's about all for our roundup this time. We hope all our friends are enjoying life and looking forward to another eventful year in 2019.
It's just about six weeks until Christmas which we are looking forward to. I love to cook that turkey and all the trimmings. Have a good one everyone!
Donna and Ken.
Post-Script. After the devastating fires in California, we just learned that Michelle's dad lost his dear wife in the fire and all his possessions and property. Our sincerest condolences to Jack and Michelle and of course to Michelle's dad who Michelle and Jack are now currently caring for. If any of our friends woud like to donate a litte, anything at all, you can do that at a go fund me page that has been set up for Michelle's dad at https://www.gofundme.com/camp-fire-victims-galarneaux-family
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